Five hundred and thirty million I
bushels is the official estimate of the
United States wheat crop for 1597.
New York claims to bo growing
healthier. Tho death rate has do- I
creased six and 1 half per cent, since |
1891.
The Pennsylvania Bankers' Associa- j
tion Las voted to organize a chapter oj j
the association, whoso purpose shall
be the erection in Philadelphia of a
bronze statue of Robert Morris, the
patriotic financier of the Revolution,
and the founder cf the first organized
banks in the State of Pennsylvania and
the United States.
Mr. Peary, tho Arctic explorer,
speaking of tho generous gift of the
Windward made to him by Mr. j
Harmsworfch, the London publisher 1
expresses great gratification over thh '
striking exhibition of English good
feeling. Ho considers it another link
in'the long chain of intcrnationa |
courtesies exchanged in Arctic cxplor I
•tion.
It is thought that the influence ol
the French language, with its unas
pirated h, is the primary cause of thai
letter being so much ignored by Eng
lish peoplo. French having beer
epoken so long in England and tht
people near the coast having come iu
contact continually with that lan
guage, an indelible impression, it is
said, is left upon it, increased now by
usage.
According to the Chief of the Penn
sylvania State Bureau of Railroads,
the bicycle is hurting tho business ol
the railroads. He says: "In cities
like Harrisburg and many others il
cannot bo gainsaid that the bicycle
has become a most serious competitor
of the railway. To reinforce this view'
of tho caso an observation was made
on Third street in that city during
the month of October, 1837. The
observation covered two days, from
seven in the morning to six in the
evening. During that time 0078 per
sons passed a given point, 1902 in the
cars and 4110 on bicycles; 07 7-10 per
cent, on bicycles and 32 3-10 per cent,
on the cars, or more than two to one
in favor of the wheel."
Says tho Philadelphia Record
Justice Patterson of Now York, in 0
speech before tho Law Club of thai
city recently, deplored tho fact that
tho law had become so largely a trade
instead of a profession; and on the
following day Dr. Edward Everett
Halo, in an address boforo an educa
tional body in tho same city on "Mor
ality in the Public Schools," made the
declaration: "There is danger of the
managers of a great machine taking
more pride in tho machine and it 3
workings than in tho results it turns
out. This is the dauger in our public
schools." These words will, of course,
be resented as the views of pessimists;
yet they come from men qualified to
speak as public teachers, and com
ing simultaneously Ihey gain an em
phasis which must command atten
tion. Wo arc accustomed to flatter
ourselves with the idea that our devel
opment along material lines neces- |
sarily involves a corresponding de- i
velopment along intellectual and |
moral lines. However that may be, :
the fact can no longer be denied that the !
commercial instinct is beginning tc J
dominate almost every action of our 1
people.
Anent the agitation in the South foi 1
more diversified farming as a partial !
remedy for the alleged over-produe.
tiou of cotton, a correspondent of tlio |
Charleston News and Courier directs j
attention to the fact that many years
ago South Carolina had a place in the
records us an exporter of wheat floui
and of corn. The Hour exports began
about 17G0 and continued into the
present century until cotton sup
planted wheat. It is believed thai '
much more flour was mauufacted in
the State one hundred years ago than :
now, although population and re
sources have multiplied many fold. A i
century and a half ago corn was "an
important article of export" from the 1
State, aud the trade continued foi j
over fifty years, as there is a record ol
about 100,009 bushels exported in j
1792. Not long tlinreaf- t corn became
an article of im or, and some years 1
ago was report:- I as "the largest"
article of that character. What v.m
done with the soil of iho Stato 100 !
years ago, tho Courier says, can be j
done again. In one country the grow- j
ingand grinding of wheat for local con i
sumption lias been undertaken, and
other counties are advised to follow
the example. "Wo have proved by 0
long and stumbling experience," the
Courier says, "that cotton does not
take the place of wheat as tho 'staff oi
life,' and that no community can thrive
whose only manufacturing industry is
that of ffiuning the fibre for market."
.THE SEASONS OF THE HEART.
If tvo lto blithe and warm at lioart.
If we be sound and pure within,
No sorrow shall abide with us
Longer than dwells the sin;
Though autumn fois the landscape fold.
Though autumn tempests roam,
Our summer is not over yet—
Wo keep the sun at homo.
—Edward Wilbur Mason, in Youth's Companion,
V 0 V •*' s 't'•*-V♦*V<V<* ♦h*-<* „ V< * * '■+ /VtAAtA/\A.</W
| THE RIDDLE OF A LOCK. |
Q O
Q
IJy WILt-IAM O. STODDAUr,
fHERE was upon liis
face an intense,
and even a comba
tive look, a3 he
stood in the wind
swept piazza, with
his hand upon the
boll-pull. He
seemed about to
ring again, when
the door opened
and he stepped
quickly in, while a graceful form re
ceded timidly before him. A pair of
moist, dark eyes and a troubled face
were averted from his, and there was
a husky tremor in the voice which said
to him:
"You mustn't come in, Jeff."
"Madeleine," he bluntly exclaimed,
•'what does this mean?"
"Mr. Lapham! Steve Lapham!"
"Old Jacob Lapham's only your
stopfather. He has no authority over
you. His son is a fraud! Your
mother "
"Oh, Jeff, dear! that is the trouble!
They have made her forbid mo to
speak to you! I caunot disobey her!
Sho is dying! They have almost made
her make me promise. Oh, Jeff, dear,
I'm almost crazy!"
"I should say you were," he
growled, with a fierce light dancing
across his face. "It was time for mo
to come. Is your mother really so
low?"
"She may last many days yet; per
haps not twenty-four hours. Stephen
Lapham isn't there, but his father
doesn't leave her for a minute. I've
no chance to see her alone. She com
manded me not to speak to you."
"No, she didn't," said Jeff. "She
oniy repeated something after old Jake
Lapham. What rdie was forced to say
was 110 command of hers. Ho ho
reasonable. She has no right to do
it, anyhow; and she really didn't do
it. Old Jake did. As for Steve, the
young "
"Hon't I know what ho is?" said
Madeleine, hysterically. "Didn't I
hear what his father said to him? They
didn't know I heard "
"What did they say?" demanded
Jeff, as she hesitated, and he closed
the door behind him and led her into
the parlor as he added: "What did
you hear? Tell mo the whole of it."
"Oh, Jeff, dear," said Madeleine,
"Mr. Lapliam said to Steve that as
soon as mother died they would re
cord all the deeds, before proving the
will, and then they would own every
dollar of the property. Ho said they
could make mo do what they £)leascd
then."
"What deeds?" he asked, in a firm
hut unexeited way, that seemed to
help her.
"Deeds that mother made," sho
said. "Deeds and things that give
them everything there is to give."
"Did you ever sign any papers your
self?" asked Jeff. "Sho couldn't do
it alone."
"I don't know what they were," re
plied Madeleine. "I signed every
paper they had 011 the table, tho night
they said she would die before morn
ing!"
"When was that?" he asked.
•'More than a month ago," she said;
"anil they put them all into the safe |
in the library."
"I know wliero it is," said Jeff. |
"It's your own safe now. It opens
with a combination lock. You know
tho numbers, of course, and how to
ojjen it?"
"No, I don't," she replied despair
ingly. "I never knew how to open it,
I don't know tho numbers, and I can't
tell you. They've kept them a secret.
Mother said once that it was the Dec
laration of Independence and the days
of the week."
"Oh!" exclaimed Jeff, with almost
a lftugh; "that's a riddle. Is anybody
in tho library now?"
"No," said Madeleine. "Nobody
goes there."
Jeff's face was angry and stormy, in
spite of his calm, reassuring manner,
as 110 strode to tho library-door and
opened it. Tho room bad a chilly,
deserted look, and its grate was empty.
A lireproof safe, of medium size,
stood in one corner, and in an in
stant the young man was kneeling be
fore it.
"This is your safe, Madeleine
Lane," 110 said. "May I open it?"
"You may, but yon cau't," she re
plied; but his baud was on tho knob
of tho safe-lock, and her cheeks !
burned with feverish excitement as j
sho watched the quick, though care
ful, turns of his wrist.
"Twice this way," she counted.
"Three times that way. Onco around
•gain -or was it twice?"
Just then she heard a faint click,
and she saw the door of tho safe swing
wide open. It was as if a feat of
necromancy had been performed be
fore her eyes. Those of Jeff were
uePK-hiug the interior of the safe.
'Hers they are!" he exclaimed, as
h*\ pulled out. of a pigeon-hole a
package of long-folded, legal-looking
documents, ami rose to his feet.
"Please examine them with me, Made
leine."
"This first lot," he said, turning
1 thei*\ over, "are all deeds, of one sort
But If our heart bo veld and cold.
Be sure 110 pood will live therein,
But sorrow for the sorrow's sake,
And sin becauso of sin:
And aye the dropping of the leaf.
Anil aye the falling of thosnow.
And aye the barren, barren earth-
Though summer winds do blow.
or another, to your own father, two or
three to your mother, by which they
owned their entire property. All of
thera are recorded. We have nothing
to do with them. I'll put them back.
There! Mow, Madeleine, just look at
these! All of them new deeds. You
and your mother to Jacob Lapham.
You and sho did actually sign them
all."
"I didn't know whatl was signing,"
gasped Madeleine, "Hut there were
witnesses and a notary."
"Each deed acknowledges a large
sum of money actually paid, and here
are the mortgages, bonds, notes, that
old Jake Lapham paid that money out
for."
"There never were any mortgages,"
said Madeleine, "but those are my
own signatures—all of them."
"They are dated as if they had been
signed three years ago," he said; "as
soon as you were old enough. It's a
very completely finished piece of rob
bery. Hellow! What's this?"
"She signed her will that very day,"
replied Madeleine. "Aunt Wickham
and Judge Wickham, and two other
gentlemen, came here with Mr. Lap
liam, and we were all in mother's
room, but none of them knew what
was in the will,"
"Exactly!" said Jeff. "How they
did work the matter! Here are two
wills, made the same day. How could
they make those stupid witnesses sign
twice?"
"I heard Mr. Lapham say, 'Sign
here, and sign here,' " said Madeleine.
"Judge Wickham was leaning over
mother and saying something to her."
"He was unsuspecting," said Jeff.
"This is really her will, giving all to
yon and making Judge Wickham and
Deacon Morris her executors. This
other thing gives all to Jacob Lap
ham aud makes him sole executor,
giving you only a life estate. It says
a great deal more, but it's a fraud."
At that moment he was lighting a
match and removing the blower from
the library-grate.
"Oh, Jeff, you dare not!" exclaimed
Madeleine, "you must not! What are
you going to do?"
"Nothing at all, he said, calmly.
"But fire is good for fraud. How
well it all burns! There go the deeds,
and the mortgages, aud the bonds,
and all tho notes. Tho will went up
like a flash."
"Dear me!" she said; but Jeff was
once more investigating the safe.
"Madeleine," lie said, "here's a
stack of greenbacks, aud it's your own
money. It is right where he can get
it. Don't you think it ought to be in
a safer place?",'
"It must be mine!" she exclaimed.
"It can't be his! He hasn't anything.
Ho meant to steal it, surely!"
"Meant to?" replied Jeff. "Why,
he has already stolen it aud hidden it
here. This is your safe, to bo sure,
but it isn't safe enough. You are
going to put your money into the
Uompton National Bauk. Fifteen
thousand dollars and more. All that
old Jacob Lapham lias stolen during
several years, except what Steve has
wasted; one way or another."
"Tat it into the bank for me, Jeff,"
atd Madeleine. "I dare not, and I
'•annot bear to leave the house."
"I'll put the will right hack where
I*found it," 110 said, as he did so.
"They all saw it deposited here?"
"Yes," replied Madeleine. "Uncle
Wickham and the witnesses came down
and saw it put away there."
"That's where they will find it,
then, when they come to look for it,"
said Jeff, and ho seemed to be worry
ing in a very curious way around the
lock of the safe. "There! That'll
do, I guess. Now, Madeleine, I
must go."
Not many, not very many, seconds
later Jeff walked unconcernedly out
of the house, as if nothing extraordin
ary had happened. Madeleine, on the
other hand, after closing the door be
hind him, went slowly aud thought
fully upstairs.
A door at her right opened at that
moment, and a tall, grim-looking
woman stood in it.
"How is mother?" asked Madeleine.
"Is Mr. Lapliam there?"
"Ho is asleep just now," said tho
nurse. "She has not stirred or
spoken."
Madeleine walked past her into the
room, and bent above uu emaciated
form lying upon the bed.
The face was placid, but there could
be 110 misunderstanding of tho mes
sage it conveyed.
"Oh, if I could but speak to her!"
thought Madeleine, while her whole
frame shook and her own face grew as
white as was that upon which she was
gazing, and then a faint whisper broke
through her lips:
"Mother!"
A pair of blue eyes opened languid
ly, aud the nurse now at the window,
did not hear as acutely as did Made
leine:
"My daughter! Kiss me!"
So quick, so passionate, so agoniz
ingly intense was that meeting at tho
lips; but Madeleine could now whis
per:
"Jeff has been here mother. He
sent his love to you."
"Give him my love, dear. My son!
It is easier to leave you " with
him "
Just then the nurse turned sudden
ly from the window, and a burly form
which had lain upon a sofa near it
sprang vigorously to itsfoet and strode
to the bedside.
"Madeleine Lane! how dare you?
She must not talk! Have I not for
bidden this sort of thing?"
"She is my mother, Mr. Lapham,
and yon are not my father," said
Madeleine, resolutely. "But I think
it best not to speak to her again, just
now. H I did think best I should do
so."
There was a motion of a thin hand
on the coverlet, and it was obeyed.
Madeleine stooped aud kissed "her
mother, and then glided out of the
sick-room, closely followed by the
wrathful face of old Jacob Lapham.
As for Jefferson Meredith, liis walk
to the village had been rapid, and his
first visit was made at the bank. His
next errand was to a dingily respect
able law office.
"Judge Wiekham," he snid to tho
white-haired gentleman who wel
comed him, "Miss Lane is somehow
aware that you and Deacon Morris
are executors of her mother's will
"I had an idea, from herself, that I
was to be one of them "
"And she wishes you to bo ready to
act at once. She is not upon good
terms with old Jake and Steve."
"Ugh!" exclaimed the old lawyer.
"Tell her I'll be ready."
Perhaps it was as well that Made
leine watched at her window, looking
toward tho village, and that Jeff was
not again compelled to ring the door
bell, for at the moment when she ad
mitted him old Jacob Lapham was in
the library >
"Yon tape care of the bank-book,"
she said, when he had swiftly de
tailed his business doings. "Don't
stay."
His face had darkened cloudily over
what she had herself told him, but it
cleared somewhat as ho turned away.
Evon Madeleine did not hear him say
to himself, aloud, as he was going
down the steps: "Oh, but don't I
wish I could see old Jake and Steve at
work on ihat safe!"
Madeleine reached her room again
unobserved, all tho more safely be
cause her stepfather was crouching
before that obstinato fireproof safe,
twisting the knob to numbers that he
knew, but which the lock refused to
know anything about. He muttered,
too, fiercely, even explosively, and at
last ho arose, exclaiming:
"Well! If I can't open it, nobody
else can. Sometimes those things wiil
work so. I've known it happen be
fore. At any rate, I've got all those
things fixed so that the property can't
get away from me. I'm sole executor,
and the will just nails and clinches the
deeds."
Madeleine lingered in her room
only for a long, deep, silent fit of
thinking. At the end of it she arose
from hor chair with a hard-drawn
breath, and once more went over to
the sick-room. A
Tho form upon the bed lay very
still, but the loving blue eyes opened
as Madeleine again grasped the thin
hand in hers.
"I gave your message to Jeff,
mother. He sent hi 3 love to you
again."
"I wish I could see him. My son!"
she whispered. "Say good-by to him
for me, dear. Kiss me, Madeleine.
There—there—good-by."
There was a heavy hand upon Mad
eleine's shoulder, as she rose, but she
did not turn her fixed gaze from her
mother's face.
"What does she mean?" ho harsh
ly, hoarsely demanded. "Her son?"
There was no answer in words, but
even Jacob Lapham turned pale, and
the advanciug nurse drew back again,
while Madeleine sank upou her knees
—for they were all suddenly aware
that the last messenger had come.
For Madeleine Lane all earthly
things were veiled and put away. That
hour of sobs and silence was no time
to consider questions of property.
There were others iu tho house,
however, whose business activities
were hindered, very apparently, less by
the presence of death than by the
strange perverseness of the look of the
safe in the library. Tho knob of it was
twisted and twisted in the most weari
some way.
".Steve," remarkod an anxious
voice, at last, "we must have that
money out! The deeds and mortgages
must be recorded! Only one will
must be found there! This is awful!"
"We've some days yet, father, and
we can blow it open."
"Wo must do it ourselves, then. It
won't do to have anybody else open
that safe. We must let Madeleine
alone, too, until after the funeral."
"I don't care," growled Steve, "so
long as Jeff Meredith is leapt out of
the house. Her Aunt Wieknam is up
there with her now."
Aunt Wickhatn remained with Mad
eleine nil through tho long, dark night
of the first mourning. Then followed
tho strange days of interval between a
death aud a burial. Old Jacob Lap
ham had a great deal of walking up
and down in the parlor to do, for he
was a bereaved man, with more than
one grief to carry. The look of tho
safe had much twisting to endure, but
it still refused to remember its num
bers.
Judge Wiekham came in, and Mr.
.aphain began to say something to
j kirn about the safe and its contents,
I aud its conduct.
"Pooh, pooh, Jacob!" responded the
'.d lawyer; "you are in no condition
>r business. It's no time for it, eith
r. Wait till after lb• ianernl. I'llat
eud to everything for you just now.
fadeleinc, too—she's all broken
<wn."
Another night passed and another
v came, and at the hour appointed
there were carriages at the door. There
was no occasion for remark, however,
when the mourners cnine out of tho
house, in the fact that Madeleine
leaned on the arm of Judge Wiekham,
and entered a carriage with him and
t his wife, her mother's sister, and with
her mother's friend, Mrs. Meredith.
If her stepfather and stepbrother did
not like it, that was not the time for
them to say so, or to employ author
ity.
The house was regained aud was re
entered by tho family party, and no
body else seemed to notico that Judge
Wiekham went iu last, and that, as he
did so, he took the key out of the door
and put it in his pocket.
"Wiekham," said Mr. Lapham, as
the old lawyer joined the rest in the
parlor, "come in here a moment. I
can't open the safe. Nobody else
knows the combination, but it won't
open. Her will is there "
"Try it again, Jacob—try it ngain,"
said the judge, placidly. "You've
been too agitated, too norvous "
"We'll have to have it blown open,"
said Mr. Lapham; "but just to show
how it is "
And he did try it, with ostentations
precision, in full confidence that the
lock would continue its obstinacy, but
when he remarked, "There!" and gave
a hard pull, open flew the door of the
safe and its contents were on publio
exhibition.
"I declare!" exclaimed Mr. Lap
ham, springing to his feet. "Eemark
able!"
"There's the will," said Judge Wiek
ham, calmly, as he sent a long arm in
aud pulled out a paper lying in full
view.
The eyes of Jacob Lapham were
frantically searching the interior of
the big iron sa.'a for something which
they did not seem to find.
"That is all. All correct,"continued
Judge Wiekham. "Deacon Morris
and I are executors. Everything goes
to Madeleine! I'll take possession at
once. That is, I'll leave her in full
possession."
"Give me that paper!" roared Jacob
Lapham. "It isn't the will!"
"Yes, it is!" replied the j-tdge. "I
know the signatures. I saw it put
thore. I was here. It's all right,
Jacob."
"There's another will! I'he safe
has been robbed! Money missing!
Papers missing! I'm robbed!"
"It isn't your safe, Jacob; it is Miss
Lane's safe. If there is another will,
produce it."
"Leave the house! I'm in control
here! Get out! I'm in possession!
"I think not," answered Judge
Wiekham. "Your authority has
ceased. Miss Lane is '.in possession.
She is absolute, unquestionable qjvner.
You and Steve must go!"
It was of little use to storm, but of
course there was a storm, and it was
all tho worse because of tho bewilder
ing conduct of that safe. It con
taiued no othor will, and when Judge
Wiekham shut it up it almost seemed
to wink at him. The Judge did not
storm, but he was firm, and so was
Madeleine, and she, too, wa3 calm,
although she remarked:
"If Stephen were a gentleman he
would not wish to remain, knowing,
as he does, how utterly I detest him.
After what you have said and done,
Mr. Lapham, you must go at once.
All that belongs to you has been nut
into your own room."
"Gome upstairs," 3teve," sSfd his
father; and as soon as they were in
Steve's room, he added: "Wiekham
is going out to fir.d Morris. As soon
as he is gone we will search that safe."
"We'll clean it out, too," said
Steve.
Hardly had they left the library,
however, before Jefferson Meredith
eamo in from the dining-room, where
he hnd passed most of his time during
the funeral services, and once more
ho worried the lock of the safe a little.
"Is it all right, Jeff?" asked Judge
Wiekham. "Am not Ito know tho
new combination? _ Can't you explain
it to mo?"
"Simplest thing in the world," said
Jeff "Lots of people remember their
safe combinations that way. The rid
dle was no riddle at all."
"Independence, Fourth of July,
and the days of the week? How was
it? I must say it's a riddle to me."
"Why," snid Jeff, "don't yousee it?
The year, 1776. The days, 7. Di
vide 50—17—7—76.o —17—7—76. to get your three
numbers. Twist tho knob tho usual
way. That did it."
"How is it now?" asked the lawyer.
"All independence and freedom,"
said Jeff. "It is 17—21—76, aud
that's what'll puzzle old Jacob when
he comes down stairs. But it's a good
thing io know how to sot and reset a
lock."
Jeff was in another part of the house
when the Laphams were puzzled, but
he knew how it was. Even the lock
seemed to enjoy it as they tried to
mako it once more remember its old
numbers.
"It's an awful riddle, Steve,"
groaned old Jacob; "but we can't get
iu."
That, alas for them, meant that
their plot had failed, and that they
must get out..
Only a few weeks later Jefferson
Meredith was slowly, thoughtfully
turning a plain gold ring upon one of
Mrs. Madeleine Meredith's fingers.
"I feel so safe now," she said; "arid
it is what mother would have wished:'
"Madeleine," he answered her,'
"there aro some combinations of
which only God knows the secret.
This is one of them, and it is locked
forever."—MeC.'s Monthly.
A Pliyßlcian'B I'D nidi sc.
A place for physicians to emigrate
to is the oity of Hamah, south of
Aleppo. Though it contains 60,000 in
habitants, among whom diseases of
the eye, in particular, are rainpam,
j thore is not a single physician in the
city.
AGRICULTURAL TOPICS*
A lion's Effff Production.
About 150 egga per year la estimated
aa the production of a hen, if tho flock
ia amall and well cared for, bnt with
large flocks an average of 100 eggs
per hen for one year ia about correct,
ua disease, lice and mismanagement
cause loss. The fowls on farms give
larger profits in proportion to capital
represented than larger stock, but are
more neglected, and, therefore, do not
give as large profits as could bo derived
from them.
flCare or Farm Implements.
Far more waste of farm implements
(3 due to rust and disuse than is the
wear of them while some one is work
ing with them. They are too often
left exposed for weeks and months
during the worst weather in the year,
and thus treated will not last one*
third aa long, as they should not be
tft to use any of the time. A con
venient tool house near onough to the
barns to bo always easily accessible,
yet not near enough to be in danger
from fires, will pay better than almost
any other investment on most farms.
—American Cultivator.
Applo Poinuco ah Fo*d.
There is considerable nutriment in
pomace as it comes from the mill.
Stock will eat it quite readily if fed
before it begins to ferment. This,
however, it does very soon if exposed
to the air. Consequently it is best to
place the pomace in air-tight barrels
or hogsheads, so as to keep air from
it, and cover the pomace with some
thing that will hold down tho carbonio
acid gas and prevent its escape as it
forms. This is really ensilaging it.
The pomace itself has not nutritive
value to make this worth while. Its
chief value is its succulency, and it
should be fed with grain, hay or meal,
so as to give the proper proportion of
nutrition. When put up in air-tight
barrels and kept slightly below freez
ing temperature there will be no more
fermentation in the pomace than there
Is in the silo, and it can 'je usod til'
late in tho winter.
True I.lfe History of tho Codlln Moth.
According to Professor M. V. Sling
srland, of Cornell experiment station,
the old story of tho entomologists about
the codlin moth laying its eggs in the
blossom end of the apple is a myth.
The moth that lays the eggs does not
sppear until a week after the blossoms
(all, and then it deposits them upon
tho sido of the npple. In about ten
lays they hatch and tho little worms
crawl around on the surface until they
find tho calyx, then creep in L-stween
the lobes which have by thiv time
;losod tightly. Up to this time the
Insects have not eaten, but soon after
entering the calyx they begin to gnaw
their way into the apple.
From this it can be seen that trees
ihould be sprayed for this insoct as
soon as tho blossoms fall, as the paris
green can then be deposited in the
calyx where it will be eaten by the
conn, while if it is dolayod ten days
r longer, the calyx will have closed
ever the basin and the paris green will
nly be deposited on tho outside of the
(ruit, where it will in no way injuro
the young worm. The closing of the
calyx is in one way a good thing as it
covers the poison and protects it from
being washed out by rain. The oalyx
cf the pear does not olose, and hence
it will bo better to wait for ten days or
two weeks alter the blossoms fall be
fore spraying pear trees, as there will
be less danger of tho poison being
washed away.—New England Home
stead.
Klonrillcers "Have Troubles of Their Own"
The real difficulty in connection with
prospecting at Klondike, is not so
much the trouble of staking out good
paying claims, as it is to get into the
country at all, or to keep from starv
ing to death if you do get in. The
narrow mountain passes loading into
British Columbia aro so completely
glutted with human traffic that ths
overflow at the foot hills of hundreds
and thousands of men, women, horsos,
and dogs, and the melee of carts, sleds,
and provisions in the utmost possible
confusion, form a scene absolutely
uniquo in the history of gold discov
eries, a scene appalling in its combina
tion of misery, pathos, of human am
bition and consequent suffering.—
From "Great Gold Discoveries,"* ia
Demorest's.
Variety in Kxploslves.
Within tho past few years the num
ber of explosives has inoreased with
astonishing rapidity, as also tho de
mand for and the trade in these arti
cles. Twenty years ago there were
uise factories turning out gun cotton
and nitro compounds. There are now
twenty-nine, and as those include al
most all of the Bmokeless powder fac
tories, the advance in this line is evi
dent. In 1876 there was but one
nitro-glycerine compound where now
there are nine. Neither the demand
for gun powder or tho factories show
any marked increaso. Over ten thou
sand persons are employed iu the
manufacture of these explosives, and
an enormous amount of capital is in
vested in such works.—Tho Ledger.
Good Temper and Health.
One of the signs of mental health is
equanimity of temper, and the ability
to bear with indifference or even pleas
ure the little trials of Jife, and espe
cially those which come from scolding,
petulant, cross, irritable persons. To
this end the art of not hearing too
much should bo learned. There are
so many things which, it is so painful
to hear, very many of which, if heard,
will disturb tho temper, corrupt sim
plicity and modesty, and detract from
health and happiness. If a person
falls into a violent passion and calls
one all manner of names, and we can
shut our cars and not hear it, or if we
can laugh at the words instead of be
coming excited, it is a sign of a
healthy nervous syaWcu. —The Ledger.
WINTER.
! Worry, though tho moon shines pola
Anil tho wind-tossed branches wail;
Purest crystals float and full;
There they sparkle,
, Here thoy darkle,
On tho piao and lonely wall.
Merry, though tho stream is still
'Neath tho cold and trackless hill;
Tiiore tho realms of Hospor gloi*?
Twilight lingers,
Shining lingers
Gild the sleeping Holds of snow.
—Gouosse lUchardson, in Woman's Horn®
; Companion.
HUMOR OF THE DAY.
It is very seldom that wo seriously
regret anything we didn't say.—Life.
Whan a woman runs it is n mean
! man who will use his camera.—Somer
| ville Journal.
i J udgo— "Why did you steal tho com
plainant's turkeys?" Prisoner—"He
had no ohiokens, your Honor." —De-
\ troit Journal.
She—"Why is it called the 'silver
moon?'" He—"Beeauso it comes in
halves and quarters, I suppose."—
i Chicago News.
! Baeon—"And he's kind-hearted, ia
| ho?" Egbert—"Kind-hearted? Why,
I I don't believe he ever said an unkind
. word, even to an alarm clock!"
' "What would you do if you had only
! ten cents in the world, Kitty?" "I
would buy caramels with it to raise
my spirits."—Chicago Record.
I Doubtful: Spoudley—"Well, if my
J money should go, dearest, you'd still
havo me!" Mrs. Spendley—"Don't
! you be too sure about that!"—Puok.
Instruction: Johnny—-- "And does
the gasmeter measuro the quantity ol
gas you use?" Papa—"No, my son|
the quantity you havo to pay for."-
Puck.
"Ma, is there any pie left in the
pantry?" "There is one piece, but
you can't have it." "You are mis
taken, ma, I've had it."—Cleveland
Plain Dealer.
"Ho told me to get off the earth.
What do yon suppose ho meant?' 1
! "Ho seemod to think that you needed
a bath, evidently." Louisville
Courier-Journal.
"Yon may fetter my body," he
shouted, "but my mind will wear n*
chain!" In other words, the wheel
| in his head was of the '1)8 pattern.—
Indianapolis Journal.
! Customer (in restaurant) "This
boefsteak must bo at least three weeks
' old, isn't it?" Waiter—"Don't know,
sail; I'se only been heah two weeks,
eak."—Chicago News.
I Raggs—"Say, do you believe that
; story of the goose laying the golden
j egg?" Jaggs—"Well, it would be
just like a goose to do such a foolish
• thing."—Chicago News,
i Sloper (as Miss Eastlake, his in
tended, finishes a solo) —"What a
voice!" Duncan (who has been re
jected by Miss Eastlake) —"Yes, what
u voice!" —Harlem Life.
A North of England paper says: "We
have adopted the eight-hour system
in this offioo. We commence work at
8 o'clock in tho morning and close at
8 in the evening."—Tit-Bits.
Matilda—"Have you spoken to
' papa?" Bertie—"Yes; I asked him
through the telephone' and he an
swered: 'I don't know who you are,
i but it's all right.' " —Piok-Me-Up.
j Not Necessarily: Walter "So
Bilker rents that forty-dollar-a-month
houso of youi-B, does he? He pays
I too uracil rent." Landlord (sighing)
| —"You don't know liim."—Puck.
"Men's promises," tho young wife
said between sobs, "aro like pie-crust
; " "Thnt's tough," said the young
i husband, . and then she got angry
enough to cry.—lndianapolis Journal.
Tho Ivlondiker who returns with
i §IOO'J in gold dust usually estimates
the claim left behind at §500,000. It
is well to keep these assets in a sep
arate class.—St. Louis Globe-Demo
orat.
Bride—"Counting your change,
Goorge? It has been an expensive
trip, hasn't it?" George "That's
i right. It looks as if this honeymoon
would soon bo off its last quarter."—
( Puok.
Rapturous Youth "Darling, my
i salary is S2O a week. Do you think
i you could live on that?" His Af
fianced—"Why, yes, George, I can
get along on that. But what'U you
live on?" —Chicago Tribune.
| Bingham—"Bonner is so aggravat
ingly self-possessed." Rawlins—
\ "Yos. Ho could wear a cheeked golf
| suit at a wedding and carry himself as
though the groom was a mere caddy."
I Philadelphia North Amorioan.
I "I have been complimented a great
many times on my stage presence,"
said the amateur with a disposition to
; monopolizo things. "Yes," replied
■ the weary manager, "you're all right
!on that point. What you want to oul
ti Tttto now is an occasional Btogo ab
sence."—Washington Star.
| Robbins—"What in the world does
j Hardy Upton mean by wearing a win
ter overcoat and a summer suit?"
j Dobbins—"Why, a report got around
j that he had to soak his summer suit
I before lie got his winter overcoat out.
i Hardy is trying to prove that the l-e
--j port is unfounded."—Puok.
j "Colonel Blood," says the current
issue of the Weekly Battle Ax, "has
called at this office and demanded u
retraction of our remark that he was n
famous liar. Wo retract cheerfully
and fully, and do so by hereby stating
that tho esteemed colonel is an in
famous liar."—lndianapolis Journal.
Clarence—"Genovieve, why will
you not hear me? Can't you see that
lam dying for your love? Tell me,
tell n_i that yon will—" Genevieve
(interrupting)—"Oh, please go away
and come some other timo when I'm
not busy. Can't you see that I'm
right in the middle of this murder
cose?"— Cleveland Leader,